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Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Originally Posted by Scowling Dragon

No feelings.

She is just going through the motions.

Faking it somehow.

She's not even half the girl she--OW!

Originally Posted by Winterwind

Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

I wouldn't be surprised if neither of them could affect the other in any way.

Originally Posted by Winterwind

Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

At this point the theory that she is an earth elemental seems to still be a possibility. The fact that she broke the stone does not disprove it, because some stones are harder than others. The fact that her earliest memory is being in molten rock seems to support being an earth elemental. Whether this is the right explanation or not, I do think that there will be an explanation at some future time in the story.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

If she truly lacked emotions and feelings, why would she be drawing to creatures that happened to look like her?
Her emotions work differently than humans to a certain degree, they would have to be for her to remain whatever her brand of sane is for billions of years, but if she has desires at all, she has emotions.

Last edited by Ravens_cry; 2012-11-14 at 11:38 PM.

Originally Posted by Calanon

Raven_Cry's comments often have the effects of a +5 Tome of Understanding

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Originally Posted by Uncle Momo

At this point the theory that she is an earth elemental seems to still be a possibility.

I find the earth elemental hypothesis very unlikely.

For one, most of the spiritual entities seem to be tied to the ether, fire elementals included- now, that doesn't necessarily mean that earth elementals must be tied to the ether, but it seems very likely to me that they are.

For another, presumably there is more than one earth elemental. It's not a unique type of being. If there were others, Jones (in her vast, vast time alive) would have met at least one, surely. And if she hasn't had a chance because they only recently came into being with humans... then that means she isn't really an elemental, is she?

The possibility is still there, but I find the probability to be exceptionally low.

My guess is that Jones is basically something entirely different in the Gunnerkrigg cosmology. She is not human, she is not an ether related spirit. The existence of Jones hints at something else that we haven't been introduced to yet.

I almost wonder if this is somehow related to what is up with Kat. Kat seems entirely unrelated to the ether as well, and yet there is obviously something very strange about her, from the regard of the robots to how Zimmy sees her.

Here's one silly possibility I want to bring up: Jones said she doesn't know what she is. So how does she know she isn't a robot?

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Originally Posted by Scowling Dragon

That would imply she was annoyed by us. Again: No emotions.

I don't think it's "No Emotions" so much as "Muted emotions". She's clearly got enough emotion to have relationships, and she feels enough emotion to respect the wishes of others. She accepted the estate out of respect for mister eyepatch dude's wishes. Same with her taking up the name "Jones".

She has no real physical needs. If she is capable of physical discomfort, an eon neck-deep in lava probably got rid of it. The fact that she helps people at all indicates some sort of emotional connection, albeit a very slight one.

Originally Posted by Dsurion

I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everything BRC posts is full of awesome.

Originally Posted by chiasaur11

So, Astronaut, War Hero, or hideous Mantis Man, hop to it! The future of humanity is in your capable hands and or terrifying organic scythes.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

My point about her walking the ocean floor is she had to look to find humans. We weren't always the pan-continental species we are today. Once, we were restricted to several thousand, likely in a small part of Africa.
Also, she cares about Eglamore's feelings enough to try and comfort him.
That speaks of some form of emotional connection to Apeling's beyond ultimate apthy. Further, why did she stop that bull? It is unlikely it would have done her any harm and she has no physical needs as far as we can tell. A desire to help or protect others are both emotions, particularly for an immortal, nigh-invulnerably being.

Last edited by Ravens_cry; 2012-11-15 at 02:55 PM.

Originally Posted by Calanon

Raven_Cry's comments often have the effects of a +5 Tome of Understanding

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

I disagree. Outside of her providing comfort to whats his face I always see her actions as a "Why not?" response.

Shes just doing things as they fall into her lap and loosing them the same way as well.

Shes just wandering through life. Just my theory.

Shes certainly just wandering, but the fact that she wanders at all indicates some sort of connection.
As I see it, we have exactly two motivations to do anything: Physical and Emotional ( Some could argue mental, curiosity for example, as a third category, but I'm wrapping that into Emotional). Jones has no physical drives. She dosn't need to eat, drink, or breathe. She can't be hurt, so she has no need to avoid physical injury.
If she had no emotions at all, she would have no motivation to do anything at all. Nothing could offer reward or punishment for her.

She is emotionless enough to simply accept it when she is driven from the village where she has been living. But something motivated her to join that village in the first place, and something motivated her to leave when they drove her out. She could have just sat there, ignoring any weapon that was used against her.

If she was really just going through the world, taking requests as "Why Not", then what happens if Coyote says "Hey, go punch holes in the walls of all the buildings in the court" and she says "Sure, why not".

Originally Posted by Dsurion

I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everything BRC posts is full of awesome.

Originally Posted by chiasaur11

So, Astronaut, War Hero, or hideous Mantis Man, hop to it! The future of humanity is in your capable hands and or terrifying organic scythes.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Originally Posted by Scowling Dragon

I donno. Maybe she just does the things asked of her.

And the Court said "Don't obey Coyote"

But why does she obey the court before Coyote. Why obey anybody at all. She avoids identifying with either the court or the forest, did somebody tell her to do that? Did somebody tell her to cross the Gobi desert, did somebody tell her to become a governess. And why is she obeying these people in the first place. There is nothing she can be offered or threatened with. Why isn't she just sitting on the bottom of the ocean waiting for the world to end? How did she learn to speak any language in the first place. Did she just stand there until one day a group of neanderthals were able to communicate that she should wrestle a buffalo.

Originally Posted by Dsurion

I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everything BRC posts is full of awesome.

Originally Posted by chiasaur11

So, Astronaut, War Hero, or hideous Mantis Man, hop to it! The future of humanity is in your capable hands and or terrifying organic scythes.

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Cro-Magnon, not Neanderthals. There is physiological and likely psychological differences, but yes, I agree with your basic point. Emotions are more than what Mr. Spock represses and Data claims he lacks.

Last edited by Ravens_cry; 2012-11-15 at 03:07 PM.

Originally Posted by Calanon

Raven_Cry's comments often have the effects of a +5 Tome of Understanding

Re: Gunnerkrigg Court 3: Mystery Solved!

Except that is completely counter with her present and past behaviour.
It may be a calm sea compared to the inner storm that rages within the hominid affectionately known as Homo sapiens sapiens, but it still has ripples and currents that are quite evident, in my opinion.
A least once a person* has suffered an accident that left him without emotion.
They weren't like Jones at all. Instead, they were terminally indecisive, staying in the shower for hours, or going back and forth, unable to commit to one task, and that is a creature with distinct physiological needs.*Source: 'How the Mind Works', Steven Pinker.

Last edited by Ravens_cry; 2012-11-15 at 03:35 PM.

Originally Posted by Calanon

Raven_Cry's comments often have the effects of a +5 Tome of Understanding